Completely Jonesing For A Corvette

[M&P15T]

1 hour ago, Wyzz Kydd said:

I love the tires on my Camaro.  Very sticky, though as you mentioned a bit loud.  I would like to have a DCT, but until then the launch control and no lift shift feature are pretty nifty.  Kinda scary pushing the clutch in when you're at WOT though, not something I had ever done before. 

My car has no-lift-shift. I've been too chicken to try it. Don't want to grenade anything.

 

When you're due for tires, get Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s. They are truly an amazing tire, grip like hell even when it's cold, are amazing in the wet, last longer, are cheaper, and are smoother and quieter. 

OEM tires are usually a bad joke. And Chevy won't stop using those stupid run-flat tires, which are crap.

[Wyzz Kydd]

6 minutes ago, M&P15T said:

My car has no-lift-shift. I've been too chicken to try it. Don't want to grenade anything.

 

When you're due for tires, get Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s. They are truly an amazing tire, grip like hell even when it's cold, are amazing in the wet, last longer, are cheaper, and are smoother and quieter. 

OEM tires are usually a bad joke. And Chevy won't stop using those stupid run-flat tires, which are crap.

I'll probably be due for tires by this summer.  The Supercar 3's don't last that long.  Unfortunately the Firehawks won't fit on my car. On the back I need 305 30R20 and on the front 285 30R20.  Big tires.  I'll probably go with the Michelin Pilot Super Sports, or the Pirelli P Zeros.  

[M&P15T]

Just now, Wyzz Kydd said:

....I need 305 30R20 and on the front 285 30R20.  Big tires......  

 

What do you drive? A Zl1?

[Wyzz Kydd]

10 minutes ago, M&P15T said:

 

What do you drive? A Zl1?

I drive an SS 1LE, same rims and tires as the ZL1.

[M&P15T]

2 minutes ago, Wyzz Kydd said:

I drive an SS 1LE, same rims and tires as the ZL1.

Chevy sure puts massive wheels tires on their cars. That's why they're the king of the skid-pad.

[Wyzz Kydd]

1 minute ago, M&P15T said:

Chevy sure puts massive wheels tires on their cars. That's why they're the king of the skid-pad.

That bad boy will spin those suckers shifting to second gear at 35 mph too. Lots of torque.

Edited March 21, 2019 by Wyzz Kydd

[Mayhem like me]

The ZR1 and Z06 are both diabolical handling cars. You're fine.....fine.....fine.....fine.........HOLY **** LOOK OUT FOR THAT TREE!!!!!! So one could say that they are at the limits of their platform. Watching videos and reviews of those cars, as they're taken around race tracks, is comical.......and scary.

 

However;

That does not mean that moving the drivetrain behind the seats is the answer to make the platform better. 

 

Right now Corvettes, IMO, are hampered by truly shitty choices in tires. For the big-dog cars, you can only get the OEM tires, and they're run-flat PsOS. They're harsh & loud, and I definitely think they are the main factor in making the handling at the limits completely non-linear and un-forgiving. I've read many owners posts about changing to different tires (to not quite OEM sizes, but close) and seeing a dramatic difference in how the cars behave, in all respects.

 

But don't say that on a Corvette forum, they'll have a heart-attack and die.

 

C7s are hampered by bad tires that cause handling issues, but they are still the kings of grip, and toast 911s on track and at the skid-pad, as well as in braking. Imagine what they could do with a great gearbox and better tires/suspension?

 

So, improving the breed doesn't need to be a revolution in platform. It can be an evolution in many specific areas that would make the car as fast as any other, and at a seriously lower cost.

1. Better tires.

2. Stiffer structure (maybe, haven't actually read any complaints on this.)

3. Coil-overs in the back, ditch the leaf-springs.

4. A great DCT.

 

Do all that, and keep the prices near where they're at, and make that the C8.

 

 

So basically you said all that and pretty much points to making my point for me.

Moving the mass more central is the key to improving the car a transmission won’t make it handle better , Chevy has access to the best tires as do you. Changing springs won’t help if it did they would hire you .

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[M&P15T]

2 hours ago, Mayhem like me said:

So basically you said all that and pretty much points to making my point for me.

Moving the mass more central is the key to improving the car a transmission won’t make it handle better , Chevy has access to the best tires as do you. Changing springs won’t help if it did they would hire you .

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nope, that's not the points I was making. Not at all. 

I said my guess is that the OEM run-flat TIRES are the main issue causing the "at-the-limit" handling issues, and the rear leaf springs as another possible concern. Changing to coil-overs is a well known suspension up-grade with Corvettes as with most other performance vehicles.

If you watch videos of Z06s and ZR1s going through turns, the rear-end is trying to wiggle all over the place (TONS of power & RWD), and snap into death-dealing over-steer. It's comical, and disturbing. I think the main culprit is the tires, I think the stiff-sided run-flat OEM tires don't have any side-wall compliance, and at the limit that creates snappy over-steer, as the tires have no progressive loss of grip. The car's tires have grip one second, and then lose it snapping into over-steer the next. The Road & Track reviews are very negative on those two cars, calling them evil handling and "not finished".

The Grand Sports, on the other hand, have the Z06 suspension and tires, but aren't trying to cope with 650HP/650TQ or 755HP/715TQ. The GSs have the standard 460HP/455TQ engines, and the cars are much more benign at the limits of grip, so they're considered to be much better handling cars.

No, Chevy (and some Corvette owners) do not have "access to the best tires". The big-boy Corvettes (ZR1, Z06, GS) have TWO (that's right, 2) choices in  performance tires, and they're both run-flats. That's it. No other performance tires can be fitted, they're not available in the correct sizes. 

Stingray/Z51 (standard Corvettes with or without the performance package) owners, whose cars come in wheel and tire sizes that have many different (non run-flat) tire options available to them, say that their cars ride and handle much better once they get rid of the run-flats. Additionally, the OEM run-flats seem to have a tremendous amounts of NVH, to the point that there are after-market companies that have developed and manufactured anti-NVH kits for C7 Corvettes, that are pre-cut sound and vibration damping mats that get installed all throughout the cabin of the car, under the factory carpeting. But the standard/Z51 Corvette owners can cut the NVH in their cars just by changing to non run-flat tires.

So, in my estimation, Chevys insistence on equiping their cars with those stupid run-flat tires are causing a lot of issues. But the basic platform of the Corvette is so damn good, that even with those stupid run-flat OEM tires Corvettes are still the kings of the skid-pad, figure 8s, and in the hands of very experienced racing drivers, on road courses as well.



 

Edited March 22, 2019 by M&P15T

[M&P15T]

Jesus H. Christ Super Star!!!!

Know what I'm learning about Corvette owners having joined a Corvette forum????

Do ya???

THEY DON'T DRIVE THE DAMN THINGS!!!!! Most Corvette owners seem to just park them in their heated, humidity controlled garages, hook-up the battery tenders (Corvettes COME with battery tenders), and look at them. Then they pull them out, wash/clay/wax them, drive them around the block, take a few pictures in the driveway, and put them back in the garage!!!

Some new owner is asking about the volt-meter on the dashboard (he doesn't understand what it's measuring), and every reply is all about how to use the battery tender, how everyone uses them when they leave their cars sitting for weeks and months at a time!!!! And not one poster replying noticed the guy said his Corvette is his daily driver!!!! So they all just keep replying with more info about using the battery tender, not understanding the poster drives the car on a daily basis. Daily driving a Corvette is such a foreign concept to most of the people replying, they can't answer the poster's question properly!!!

Ya know.......Corvettes appear to be amazing cars. But I'm not sure about Corvette owners. ?

Edited March 23, 2019 by M&P15T